K-Day Chapter 9 Brings USDM Hondas to Japan
Japanese car culture mixes quite nicely with American car culture at the latest chapter of Japan's awesome Honda-centric event, K-Day.
Wanting What You Can't Have
We often covet JDM vehicles, those magical Japanese machines built and sold in the Japanese market. But much like we want the cars we can't have, it also seems like Japan's car enthusiasts feel the same way about our own USDM spec rides. At least it sure looks that way after scoping out Super Street's coverage of this year's K-Day celebration.
Photos: Super Street
Underdog
This year marked the 9th annual installment of K-Day, the brainchild of Takeshi Kobayashi, owner of Type K Autosource. This year, the event took place at Sports Land Sugo's M-Park. And even though it may not get the same press as some other big-time Japanese meets, it clearly deserves the praise.
Photos: Super Street
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Other Side of the Fence
Type K Autosource specializes in parts, of course. But they also import complete USDM vehicles to Japan. Many of those rides were on display at K-Day, unsurprisingly. But it is surprising to learn that Japanese enthusiasts collect these vehicles and USDM parts much the same way we covet their JDM counterparts.
Photos: Super Street
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Dominant Presence
Thus, you might feel a bit strange walking the many rows of Hondas at K-Day when you notice that many of them are left-hand-drive. Other makes and models are welcome as well, but Honda is clearly the dominant manufacturer at this particular event.
Photos: Super Street
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Perfect Mix
There's a nice mix of styles on display here as well. Everything from bone stock Civics to wild, modified street machines. And much like we see here in the states, there were a lot of cars on display that utilizes a mix of imported and domestic parts.
Photos: Super Street
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Old and New
As usual, '90s-era Hondas appeared to dominate overall attendance. But there was a pretty big crowd of modern cars as well. We spotted everything from a slew of early Type Rs to new ones, not to mention a handful of S2000s and a couple of NSX first-gens.
Photos: Super Street
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Highly Coveted
And there was even a minivan or two. All heavily modified, of course. We also spotted an ITR fitted with a whole catalog of Mugen parts. The highly coveted bits including a set of MF10s, a complete aero kit, and even one rare and incredibly pricey vented hood.
Photos: Super Street
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Personal Possession
Of course, the host of K-Day brought along his own personal ride to show off. Kobayashi has owned his USDM ITR for many years, but he hasn't changed it too much. With only a few subtle changes, his DC2 is one of those cars that you just keep forever.
Photos: Super Street
>>Join the conversation about K Day Chapter 9 right here in the Honda-Tech Forum!
Off-Road Mania
Perhaps the most interesting trend we spotted at this year's K-Day, however, was a group of overland-equipped CR-Vs. Clearly, Japanese car fans have embraced this trend as much as we have in America. Even if they can't go out and buy massive rigs as we can, they're certainly making the best of it.
Photos: Super Street
>>Join the conversation about K Day Chapter 9 right here in the Honda-Tech Forum!
Finding Common Ground
As has been the case for years now, the 9th installment of K-Day brought out some very interesting, unique, and incredible Hondas. Many of which, surprisingly, at least feature a few parts of U.S. origin. But as we often like to say, we enthusiasts are more alike than most people realize, no matter where you're from!
Photos: Super Street
>>Join the conversation about K Day Chapter 9 right here in the Honda-Tech Forum!
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